The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 34
“We’ve arrived.”
An Asterian knight opened the carriage door and bowed deeply.
Ferdi and Ludian stepped out of the carriage first, as if accustomed to the routine.
Tiel meant to follow her brothers out, but—
“Oh, I—!”
“You mustn’t fall. Hold tight to me, Tiel.”
Cassus scooped up Tiel, who had been squirming her way down from his lap, and stepped out of the carriage still carrying her.
Ferdi and Ludian, who had been waiting to escort Tiel, both grimaced.
“Are you planning to carry her all the way in like this?”
Ferdi asked with visible exasperation.
Tiel didn’t particularly dislike being in Cassus’s arms, but she found herself marginally agreeing with Ferdi’s point.
‘W-when on earth is he going to put me down?’
From the moment she left her room at Asterian Mansion until they arrived at the Temple, Tiel had been carried the entire way.
From her room to the Main Gate, she’d been in Ferdi’s arms; from the Main Gate to the carriage, and from the carriage to the Temple, in Cassus’s.
The pretty shoes that Rena had taken such care to put on her were completely wasted.
Yet Cassus showed no intention of setting her down, striding past Ludian and Ferdi with long, measured steps, child still in his embrace.
And he spoke without a trace of concern.
“Yes, I intend to carry her. Otherwise, who knows what those fools in the Temple might try next.”
Cassus brushed Tiel’s cheek gently with his thick thumb.
At any other time it might have been different, but here in the Temple, carrying Tiel was the better choice.
Word had surely reached the Temple by now that the Asterian family possessed someone with the Light Ability, thanks to the recent incident.
So the real reason they had summoned Tiel today was almost certainly to verify whether she truly possessed the Light Ability.
‘Because the High Priest can distinguish abilities.’
They’d asked him to bring her here so they could see her in person and confirm she had the Light Ability. The shallow scheme was transparent as day.
Ferdi and Ludian nodded briefly in understanding at Cassus’s words. Tiel did the same.
‘I… don’t want to be put down.’
What if strangers tried to drag me away once I was separated from them?
What if she ended up torn away from the Asterian family? The thought sent Tiel’s face deathly pale as she imagined the worst.
But it only lasted a moment.
Tiel recalled what Ferdi had taught her when she’d been with Ian before.
‘Tiel, if someone tries to take you away, you have to say you don’t like it.’
Tiel etched Ferdi’s lesson into her heart and nodded with grim determination.
If someone tries to take me away, I absolutely must say I don’t like it!
“It’s alright, Tiel. Father’s here.”
Cassus seemed to sense her worry; he paused mid-step and patted her back reassuringly.
Nothing you’re afraid of will happen.
At Cassus’s gentle voice, Tiel slowly lifted her head from where she’d buried it.
“Yes.”
Cassus let Tiel catch her breath for a moment, then strode into the Temple interior.
Numerous priests bowed respectfully to Cassus Celestus Asterian, Ferdi Asterian, and Ludian Asterian.
Cassus dismissed their greetings with a casual nod.
“What are the results of the paternity test?”
“If you’ll come this way. The High Priest is waiting for you.”
At the mention of the High Priest, Cassus muttered, “Of course, of course.”
Ferdi and Ludian reacted similarly, while Tiel, caught in the middle, tilted her head in confusion.
The four of them followed a priest’s guidance toward the place where the High Priest waited.
The High Priest’s waiting place was at the Sacred Fountain in the center of the Temple—the very spot where paternity tests were conducted.
The method was simple: the Pope or his appointed representative would drop the hair of parent and child into the fountain, and the fountain’s color would reveal whether they were truly related.
“Cassus.”
The High Priest, spotting Cassus, approached with a benevolent smile.
Cassus nodded respectfully.
Ludian and Ferdi did likewise.
“It’s been a long time, Andreas. I’ve been too busy with affairs to visit lately.”
“My apologies for the trouble of your visit. It’s simply that His Holiness has decreed that the results for anyone of the Asterian line must be personally verified by the family in attendance.”
The High Priest finished his explanation and turned his gaze toward Tiel, nestled in Cassus’s arms.
His wrinkled eyelids parted, and his eyes fixed upon the child.
“Ah, so this is she.”
Tiel’s body shrank back at his sharp gaze. The High Priest took another step closer.
As the wrinkled face drew near, Tiel’s body went rigid with tension.
‘I’m frightened…’
The High Priest examined Tiel’s entire form.
Rather than regarding a small child, his demeanor was that of one inspecting merchandise that required careful scrutiny.
Eventually, Tiel clung to Cassus’s neck and gave a small nod.
“H-hello…”
Then the High Priest’s face drew even closer.
Tiel seriously considered whether this was the moment to shout that she disliked it.
“The child appears to be quite shy. Would it be troublesome to proceed directly to the results without the usual preliminaries?”
Cassus spoke as he drew his heavy cloak over the trembling Tiel.
For a moment, the High Priest’s brow twitched, but he quickly smoothed his expression and chuckled as though nothing had happened, giving a nod.
“Of course. Let me show you the results then.”
“You’re showing them? In that case, Ludian, take the child outside while we examine it.”
Cassus transferred Tiel from his own arms to Ludian’s.
Ludian nodded and took Tiel, patting the back of her head to let her bury her face against his shoulder.
It was as Ferdi and Ludian, now holding Tiel, began to move away from the fountain—
When—
“There’s no need for that. You may all observe together.”
The High Priest stopped Ludian and Ferdi before they could leave.
Ferdi and Ludian turned to look at him in bewilderment. And in that instant—
He dropped both Tiel’s and Cassus’s hair, which he held in his hand, into the fountain simultaneously.
“…!!”
At the High Priest’s callous action, Cassus, Ferdi, and Ludian’s expressions all darkened dangerously.
Of course, none of them doubted that Tiel was truly Cassus and Rena’s daughter, but even so—this was wrong. Utterly wrong.
When a paternity test is conducted, the child is never made to witness the results directly.
Whatever the outcome, the situation alone could inflict deep trauma upon a child.
For that reason, Cassus had planned to send Tiel out before examining the results.
But done this way…?
“…”
Cassus wiped his face. Ludian reflexively covered Tiel’s eyes, while Ferdi fixed the High Priest with a glacial stare.
The Temple’s paternity test method was simpler than one might expect. The Pope or his appointed representative would infuse Divine Power into the fountain, then drop the parent and child’s hair into it.
If the fountain’s color changed, it meant the kinship was true. If the color didn’t change…
“…”
The fountain remained silent.
Cassus, Ludian, and Ferdi all understood what it meant.
Tiel was not Cassus’s biological child.
The Temple had prevented the child from leaving precisely so she could see this demonstration of non-kinship herself.
Of course, Tiel was Cassus’s biological daughter. The secret chamber beneath Asterian Mansion proved it.
So this was nothing but a scheme by the Temple—inflicting shock upon the child and engineering all of this to tear her from her parents’ arms.
The realization gnawed at Cassus’s insides. He couldn’t contain his fury.
Cassus regarded the fountain and the High Priest in turn with an expressionless face, then briefly considered the price Asterian would have to pay if he overturned this Temple.
But the thought was cut short by the High Priest’s sudden interjection.
“I trust the implications of the results are clear without further explanation.”
“…”
Cassus didn’t speak a word, standing motionless as he stared at the High Priest.
As if to say: show me how far you’ll go. His clear, golden eyes gleamed with something unsettling.
“The Temple also takes in children. Should the test indicate non-kinship, children with nowhere else to go are temporarily cared for by the Temple.”
“…Ah, I see.”
“Yes, as you know.”
Before the High Priest could finish speaking, a priest strode toward Ludian and Tiel.
Ludian’s eyes flashed dangerously as he held Tiel tighter against him.
“Get out of my way.”
Cassus and Ferdi watched the Temple’s treachery unfold with grim understanding, saying nothing.
The intent behind deliberately showing the child a false negative result was far too obvious.
‘They’re trying to manipulate her guilt to take her away from the Temple.’
Once they’ve taken her away with falsified results, they’ll insist it’s the will of the Divine and simply refuse to return her.
Even granted that the Light Ability is coveted, he hadn’t expected them to be this brazen.
Then—Tiel, who had remained quietly cradled in Ludian’s arms until now, carefully lifted her head.
“Um… excuse me.”
Cassus, Ferdi, Ludian, and even the High Priest—all turned to look at Tiel.
The child’s wide eyes blinked slowly as she hesitantly opened her mouth.
“So… I’m not the daughter of Cassus?”
“…”
“That’s strange… That doesn’t make sense.”
There was not a tremor in the child’s voice as she spoke.
Her tone was clear and certain, cutting through the silence.
For a moment, the world stood still.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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